Futurismo, through the citizen science project “Guardians of the Azores“, won the Silver Award at the WTM (World Travel Market) Responsible Tourism Awards 2022, in the category “Reduction of plastic waste in the environment”. The announcement was made last November at the awards ceremony, at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre, in London.
After an extensive process, between dozens of companies and destinations from around the world, Futurismo was among the 21 finalists of the WTM Responsible Tourism Awards.
Nelson Santos, Executive Director and Carlos Picanço, Commercial and Marketing Director of Futurismo received the distinction personally and will be present at WTM, in London.
“Our Guardians of the Azores project was distinguished by a panel of tourism industry experts as one of the most exciting initiatives of 2022. We are winners in the category “Reduction of plastic waste in the environment” and we are very happy and proud of the path that Futurismo has taken,” says Carlos Picanço, Futurismo’s Commercial and Marketing Director.
“Our Guardians of the Azores project was distinguished by a panel of tourism industry experts as one of the most exciting initiatives of 2022. We are winners in the category “Reduction of plastic waste in the environment” and we are very happy and proud of the path that Futurismo has taken,” says Carlos Picanço, Futurismo’s Commercial and Marketing Director.
“For the first year, the results are acceptable, but far from what we wanted. The goals are really high, but the idea is to keep them high to get closer to our community year after year. In the first edition of the Guardians of the Azores project, we had more than 50 families registered, and we counted more than 300kg of garbage, mostly plastics.
Our main victory was to start bringing the issue to the community’s attention and receiving contacts from schools and associations to participate.
We believe that the seed is planted and that the next editions will have more material results in terms of numbers. The main goal, however, is to create a mentality of protecting the environment with a good scientific basis.”
Meet the finalists of the WTM Responsible Tourism Awards.
Learn more about this project Guardians of the Azores.
The Guardians of the Azores Project
The Guardians of the Azores Project challenges all families to collect trash in exchange for experiences with Futurismo. Take children to be part of an event that protects the environment and spreads scientific knowledge, while being outdoors and in contact with nature.
Every month, Futurismo organizes coastal cleanups to contribute to the preservation of our planet and to an ocean with less trash, healthier and richer in marine life. We all have an important role as individuals and society in the conservation of this great blue that covers 72% of our Planet.
The four winning families
In the first edition of this environmental education project, we gave prizes to the four families who managed to collect and deliver the largest amount of garbage.
Objectives of the Guardians of the Azores Project
Futurismo intends to encourage families to be part of a sustainable and challenging project with the goal of making our Azores cleaner. A citizen science project, a type of science based on informed, conscious and voluntary participation of citizens who contribute to create scientific knowledge.
All those who participated in the first edition of 2021/2022, besides winning discount vouchers for whale watching trips, were also eligible for a final prize. The four families that managed to collect the most weight of garbage collected (with a minimum of 50 kg ) were awarded a weekend (two nights), with lunch or dinner included, in one of our partner hotels Terra Nostra Garden Hotel; Santa Barbara Eco Resort; Grand Hotel Açores Atlântico; Senhora da Rosa Tradition & Nature Hotel.
Guardians of the Azores challenge all families to collect trash in exchange for experiences with Futurismo. Take children to be part of an event that protects the environment and disseminates scientific knowledge, while being outdoors and in contact with nature. Learn more about the Guardians of the Azores.
The second edition of Guardians of the Azores
The second edition of Guardians of the Azores will be launched in 2023, with a reinforced communication strategy and more ambitious goals. “We want to involve more schools and youth associations. Our choice is the children (they are the future) and we only intend to contribute to the structuring of their critical thinking about the world around them, promoting their connection to the environment, through a reinforced civic sense and rewarded as well,” argued Carlos Picanço.
